Sempra, Gazprom sign LNG pact

A unit of Sempra Energy has signed a cooperation agreement with Russian gas giant Gazprom. The non-binding memorandum of understanding says the companies will work together on delivery and marketing of liquefied natural gas.

While Gazprom is the world’s largest gas producer, it currently is not involved in any active LNG projects, though the company is said to be negotiating for a stake in the Shell-led Sakhalin 2 project. LNG has also been mentioned as a possible option for development of the huge Shtokman field in the Barents Sea. That field has 3 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.

The cooperation pact was signed by Donald Felsinger, president of Sempra Energy, and Alexey Miller, chairman of Gazprom, on April 25 in Moscow.

“Sempra Global is well-positioned as a gas trading and transportation company in the United States, and because they do not intend to enter the production business outside the United States, they make an ideal partner for us,” Miller said in a statement.

Sempra is developing terminals in Baja California, Louisiana, and Texas that will be ready to receive LNG in 2008 and 2009.

—Allen Baker